This is why I do what I do!
I love getting messages like this from my Backyard Nursery member/owners.
Florida Backyard Grower Phyllis
This is from Phyllis who lives in Florida. People always ask me; “Mike, you live in Ohio, will a Backyard Nursery work in Florida?” And of course I always tell them that it will because some of my most successful customers have been in Florida. . . . and Georgia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Washington, Arkansas, Texas. In other words, it will work any where people buy plants.
What really caught me off guard with this message is the that that this is mid November. Most of us are just tiding up, getting ready for the coming cold weather. I am used to getting messages like this in March, April, May and June. But November?
This is what Phyllis wrote;
I just had a “small sale” this past Veterans day weekend. ( I don’t have a lot of plants, yet ) I put a little ad in local paper. I’m in Central Florida, in between Orlando and Daytona Beach. I had a lot of hibiscus, red, and double peach, 4 0’clocks, elephant ears, yellow buttercups, and small amounts of other plants.
OMG, you would have thought I was giving away “money”.
Get Started Today. Get “Small Plants, Big Profits from Home”.
I posted the sale from 8am-noon, Saturday only, and I had people in my driveway when I opened my garage door at 7am! I thought I was going to have time to set everything out in my driveway, but THAT didn’t happen!
My customers asked if they could help me move the plants outside. But as they picked up the plants they decided they wanted to KEEP them!! IT was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO Funny!
I had made sheets up, with the plant names and pictures, and how to grow etc.. I also had a “signup sheet for notification of next sale and my upcoming newsletter. People ASKED if they could put their name, and others who they KNEW would like to know about the upcoming sales. I got over 50 email addresses before 10 am! I also got about 45 mailing addresses, phone numbers, and names….amazing! I SOLD every single plant I had, and people wanted more! They wanted to buy the plants in my yard!
I was totally sold out by 10am ( NICE!!) and still had people coming up after everything was gone! I added them to my email list ( for next sale) and got to spend the entire morning talking about plants…….. I WAS in HEAVEN!!! People asked all sorts of questions. I made notes AFTER they left for topics for my newsletter.
WOW!!! WOWW!!! WOW!!!! What a great way to start out!!!
THANKS Mike for encouraging me, and ongoing THANKS to Mike, Dustin, and all of you for your constant help, and baby plants, and ideas, and the PURE MAGIC of plants!!!
I had some people wanting to “pre order my baby plants so they would get them BEFORE my next sale!~~ I was SO good, I LABELED every single plant….WELL worth it!!!! And I labeled every plant in my “front garden” ( I really did it for me, I am so forgetful. But people would walk over to the little garden, look at the plants, and WANT one!
What a HOOT!
Thanks for letting me share! Needless to say I spent the rest of the weekend & Monday, regrouping, counting, takingm more cuttings, etc etc…… Keep makin’ baby plants!!! I sold 535 plants! I used the ad that Mike gives us. I was absolutely amazed! it just “grows to show ya” that there are a LOT of us plant people out there, and we are fanatical about our plants, our yards, our “babies”.
I am still a little baby fish, in a BIG BIG pond, but it sure was nice to test the waters. I had NO Idea what the response would be. And, it made me realize, I need to grow MORE babies, and be more diligent about cuttings, and root more, and label, label, label…… people were really impressed that every single plant was labeled.
I actually ended up with over 100 email addresses, and I had people come back on Monday to see if I had any more plants ( how nutsy is THAT?!) Yes, it was a riot, and over soooooooooo fast. Made me also realize I need to turn my backyard into growing area.
Thanks for the kind words…… we all need to help each other.
THANKS MIKE, and DUSTON for your great advise, wisdom, and friendship too!
Mike~~ I only did what you TAUGHT me to do!!!
YOU SO ROCK! And………..
I look forward to learning MORE from you……
AND
you Share……. we should ALL share with each other…..
THANK YOU for YOU!
Phyllis
I’m trying to decide if I want to start selling from my home. I sell at someone else’s house once a month. Not sure what I would need to be able to sell from my house. Have to make some phone calls tomorrow.
I’ve spent a lot of time reading “the backyard cash machine” and some of the stuff on the website. This is my dream come true!! I have a seven month old so you will have to excuse me if this information was provided and I just missed it, but what are the “rules” for selling plants from seed? I’ve had great luck with starting tomatoes and green beans from seed…! I’m losing money because I’m always giving them to family members, but I’d love to be able to sell them to other people!
I’m also wondering about having a “plant sale” at a community event. Do I need all the requirements/licenses for something like that?
If you not too tired of my questions I have one more! I read in the book where you need the tag of the original plant! I have 4 o clocks all over my yard (here before I moved) this would be an example of something that I could not sell because I don’t have the tag? 🙁 I have so many hibiscus as well!!
Thank you so much for the information you have shared! I have a feeling I will be benefiting from it!
Laura,
Keep in mind, when you are first starting out you really want to get started on the right foot. You could propagate and sell locally plants from yard and tag them with just a common name. That’s legal in some states, not sure about all states. The better option is to buy two or three different kind of flowering shrubs that are properly tagged, document the common and botanical name, then propagate to your hearts content. In time you could have thousands of each and offer them to sale to other growers, our members, http://backyardgrowers.com/join, do this on a daily basis. With generic plants from your yard you can’t do that.
You really need to read my rant; For years and years and years this has been my rant;
http://freeplants.com/rant.htm
Lots and lots of people grow and sell tomatoes from seed, but technically, anybody selling plants needs to be licesned. But the requirements are different from state to state and there are some states that allow you to sell locally the plants that you grow without a license. Best thing to do is research this with your state dept of agriculture.
But if this is your dream, and that’s an awesome dream, then don’t get discouraged over a few requirements. If you get the chance test drive our members area, http://backyardgrowers.com/join, it only costs $7.00 to test drive for 30 days and you will be amazed at what other members are selling in there and how fast they sell out. We have members that routinely sell thousands of dollars worth of plants with just one ad. Some have sold tens of thousands of dollars just inside of our members area.
Mike, I open your page regularly and enjoy your comments. Unfortunately as I approach my 90th birthday I don’t have the zip to take on a business, and my son living with me is driving truck and starting a farrier business so the gardens and the greenhouse don’t get the attention they are used to. I am financially secure, but do like to see things grow. I sometimes tell people I have been growing a perennial plant called old the last few years. It takes some pruning and grafting to keep it neat, but is quite hardy and tolerant of environment.
I too am in Florida (south Florida)and have purchased your ebook. What is holding me back is that I don’t know where to go and how to get a nursery liscense.
Can you help?
Matthew, all of that is explained in the book, just contact your local department of agriculture. Chances are you don’t even need the license until you are ready to start selling plants.
Mike; I too am enjoying just getting started. Have lots of cuttings in beds. Not ready to start selling yet. When I ordered the system, I thought that everything was in the packet, but I have been looking eversince for the dvd that describes how to build a misting system. Is there any way that you could send that again?
Phillip there is a video on the Backyard Growers Business Center you have to log in and look under Backyard Nursery Videos
Mike,I want to buy your system on growing small plant. Can it work if I set up my plant business in Africa
Fredrick, if others are growing and selling plants in Africa, then so can you. My system will work anywhere. The plants are different, but that all respond the same when it comes to propagation. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm